Changes afoot

Features - North American Wire Choppers List

Throughout the past two decades, many wire and cable processors in North America have focused on recycling high-grade (high metals content) wire and cable, while lower grades largely have been baled and shipped to China.

The future of baled wire and cable shipments to China is unclear, as that nation’s government reaches final decisions and sets timetables on which forms of scrap it will either restrict or outright ban. In the summer of 2017, the government conducted numerous recycling facility inspections and suspended the import licenses of several recyclers—including some wire and cable processors.

In the aftermath of the summer inspections, wire processors in North America say it has become clear that scrap generators and smaller dealers are exploring their options in a changed landscape. Experienced wire chopping plant operators likewise will sharpen their pencils to determine whether access to additional types of wire and cable represents a genuine opportunity.

Ringing off the hook

News travels fast in the 21st century, and wire processors say it did not take long for the news of environmental clampdowns and drafted restriction policies in China to reach the United States and then create reactions.

“People have been coming out of the woodwork,” says Todd Safran of Chicago-based wire processor Safran Metals. “I think a lot of dealers are opening their Rolodexes and looking for new potential homes” for some of their material, he adds.

“A lot of lower grade material, such as cords, harness wire and low-grade No. 2 insulated wire, that is not usually staying in the U.S. is all of the sudden being offered to us,” Safran remarks.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Jeffrey Mallin of Mallin Cos. has experienced a similar level of increased inquiries. “It’s incredible how many people are inquiring with us about processing ASRs (auto shredder residues) and low-grade insulated wire.”

Brian Shine of Lancaster, New York-based Manitoba Corp. says, as of late summer, the calls he was fielding convinced him supply was surpassing demand in the wire and cable recycling sector. “We are seeing more inquiries from potential new suppliers,” he says. “I believe this is a combination of the situation in China coupled with a bleak demand picture domestically.”

Janzen says irrespective of geography, scrap wire and cable ultimately is upgraded when it is separated from plastic cable, and any type of insulation and pure copper (or aluminum) is harvested.

“Ultimately somebody must chop the material to get the copper out, and somebody is making that money,” Janzen says. “When you sell copper chops, you are selling 100 percent copper, and there is always a buyer for pure copper.”

In the past two decades, he says, that activity often took place in China, while North American processors baled and shipped lower grades of wire. “While doing this can save a little time, a lot of money is left on the table. When a bale is made, the seller estimates the bale yield, and then the buyer makes his estimation in his favor to make sure he is covered,” Janzen says.

Worth the effort?

Scrap companies can accept a nearly endless variety of materials, including wire and cable with a wide range of metallic content percentages. Because the technology exists to recycle something, however, doesn’t mean the effort is practical.

North American wire and cable processors with chopping and separation equipment in place will have to be convinced that a profit margin exists for them to broaden the list of materials they will introduce into their processing systems.

Mallin says he sees significant hurdles to be overcome. “We don’t think our industry is prepared with the equipment and processes to economically and efficiently extract metal from some of these grades of insulated and contaminated insulated that have been going to export,” he says.

Shine acknowledges his firm has “been focused on exclusively purchasing and processing No. 1 insulated copper wire,” but says the time may be right to look beyond that. “There will clearly be more available low-grade materials, as they will require domestic processing to recover the copper content,” he says.

“Most processors that I visit or speak with are certainly exploring the viability of processing and then marketing lower grade copper-content items,” Shine continues. “We are now evaluating the potential to begin processing lower grade items.”

Safran says most North American processors are “not that prepared, in my opinion” to accept the lower grade material.

“Some of the choppers who have big chopping lines and need to feed their machines might welcome this opportunity, but I question the cost-effectiveness of running lower grade material,” he states.

Safran says existing demand for wire chops also may provide a hurdle. “I don’t believe at this time there are markets to [absorb] this processed material. Higher grade materials are sitting in inventory right now waiting for the market appetite to improve, so I can only imagine that the lower grade, off-spec material will struggle to leave the docks as well.”

Josh Trudeau of Cable Management LLC, Meriden, Connecticut, says, “This is going to lead to lower prices for low-grade materials and higher margins for processors. This is the main driver behind higher sales of specialized equipment to process lower grade wires.” He lists “large turbo mills, automated curve feed hoppers, smart loop technology and chromasort sorters” as solutions in waiting.

Janzen also says machinery suppliers will compete to help boost the North American scrap industry’s capacity to process more scrap wire and cable.

“Costs to process insulated copper wire (ICW) depend on many factors, and it is a volume-based number,” he says. “Lower grade ICW takes longer to process than power cable because you must cut it into smaller pieces to liberate the copper from the plastic insulation.”

Janzen continues, “Very small machines can be too slow to be flexible enough [and] profitable enough and overall are not effective for scrap dealers,” he says. “Very large machines require very significant investments in infrastructure, material logistics, manpower, etc. We believe now is a real opportunity for smaller and midsize dealers to make the shift and begin processing their own material with moderately sized and moderately priced equipment.”

Mallin, whose company is among the larger ones in the wire sector, points to the same factors. “There is a balance between volume, economics and efficiencies and separation quality regarding lower recovery material,” he comments. Mallin adds that there is a “slower pounds per hour [outcome] with lower grade material.”

Shine says he is aware the technology exists to recycle lower grade wire but adds that recyclers will have to perform the due diligence to see if a steady profit margin is feasible. “I believe the necessary equipment is available now; the challenge is cost-effectively processing lower copper-content materials and then marketing effectively the resultant copper generated,” he states.

The author is editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at btaylor@gie.net.

As the leaves began to fall, indicating the end of summer, so too did export volumes and pricing for recovered paper grades headed to China from the United States. The country introduced a proposed ban on certain scrap imports, including mixed paper, in mid-July, which has sellers seeking other avenues for this grade. Additionally, with the delay in reissuing import licenses in China, markets outside of that country that don’t have permitting issues are taking advantage of this opportunity.

OCC at a glance*

Major End Markets: Mills that make containerboard (liner and medium) and recycled paperboard (boxboard) are the major OCC consumers.

Flow Patterns: North American OCC is shipped to mills domestically and around the world, with China being a major destination.

Supply & Demand Factors: OCC generation ebbs and flows with industrial production and retail sales figures. Demand ultimately is tied to the same factors.

The future is cloudy

China has been transparent in its desire for cleaner material. The country has expressed this through its campaigns to crack down on contaminants in incoming loads of recyclables and the proposed ban on specific scrap imports.

*Average U.S. national price per short ton for material delivered FOB. Prices used with permission from PPI Pulp & Paper Week (incorporating Official Board Markets). Free trial available: www.risi.com/rt.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, issued a letter Aug. 18 saying a ban on mixed paper would “devastate” recycling in the U.S. and globally and “result in the … closing of many recycling business throughout the United States.”

ISRI says China’s share of global recovered paper imports was 55 percent in 2016. Citing figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), ISRI’s letter shows that the United States exported 37 million metric tons of scrap metal, paper and plastic commodities in 2016 worth $16.5 billion, with China importing 13.2 million tons of paper worth $1.91 billion of that total.

While sources say they are still selling bulk grades regularly into China, sending mixed paper is risky.

In a separate letter to the MEP, released Aug. 25, ISRI states that if implemented, these standards could effectively prohibit scrap imports to China.

“It is simply not possible to achieve such a control level, nor is it possible to even measure it with such accuracy,” writes ISRI President Robin Wiener in the letter to the MEP.

The U.K.-based Recycling Association called the 0.3 percent limit “unrealistic.” The association criticized the proposal to lower the allowed contamination levels for imports of scrap paper bales into China and asked the Chinese government to reconsider the reduction.

A California-based exporter says what happens in China is anyone’s guess. “The future is really cloudy and gray; no one can really see,” he says.

Another California-based exporter who was contacted for this feature was in Japan in early September “in an effort to understand what’s going on in China,” he says.

DID YOU KNOW?

ISRI says to make 1,000 tons of paper in:

China, it takes 1,300 tons of recovered paper generated in China.

the U.S., it takes 1,150 tons of recovered paper generated in the U.S.

An association in China also is seeking the government’s attention regarding the import restrictions. In China, the South China Morning Post reports that the Recycle Materials and Reproduction Business General Association, whose members collect scrap paper throughout Hong Kong, halted activities for five days in mid-September. The association’s Director Jacky Lau Yiu-shing says he and his members are working to find viable markets for scrap paper as a response to the restrictions, but he also told the newspaper, “If this issue is not solved by the end of October, the whole industry will come to a stop regardless. This will be several times more serious.”

Alternatives for mixed paper

Market prices for secondary fiber have slipped for some grades. Pricing for old corrugated containers (OCC), however, remains solid as sources predict demand for this grade will spike.

At domestic prices of $150.56 per ton for OCC and $59.72 per ton for mixed paper in September, the price spread between the two grades topped almost $100. Sources say with this kind of spread, more OCC will be pulled out of mixed paper loads. With less brown paper in it, mixed paper will get softer. A trader based in the Midwest says with less corrugated, the quality of mixed paper will lessen while demand for OCC will increase.

“China has to run something, and they’re going to increase the demand for corrugated,” says the trader. “Later in the year, corrugated [demand] will spike up further, and it will stay up because they have to replace mixed paper with corrugated and news.”

He predicts that while China says it won’t accept mixed paper anymore, it will “take what we call a dirty news grade, a No. 56 news on our new schedule.”

As the future for mixed paper exports to China becomes more uncertain, U.S. recyclers say they are developing alternative markets for the material.

The exporter on the West Coast says his company already is establishing other avenues for its mixed paper. He did not disclose those details, however.

“If it gets cheap enough, the other paper mills in the world will buy it,” the exporter says. “If OCC is going to be at one price and mixed paper is going to be much less than that, it’ll find its place. I’m just not sure China is going to be that place.”

Vietnam is one area where recovered paper shipments could be diverted to, as are Indonesia, India, Thailand and South Korea, according to sources.

Prepared for packaging

Throughout most of the 21st century, written communication formats—including books, newspapers, telephone directories and office memos—have suffered a loss of market share to electronic competitors.

Fortunately for recyclers and paper manufacturers, packaging grades of paper have maintained or expanded their roles in the industrial, commercial and retail sectors.

In the United States, the Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) says containerboard production in July 2017 was 5.2 percent higher compared with July 2016, and 1.7 percent higher compared with the previous month. The containerboard mill operating rate in July 2017 in the U.S. was 97.9 percent, and year-to-date production of U.S. containerboard for export is up 6.3 percent compared with 2016.

The positive news exemplifies the state of paper’s packaging grades not only in the U.S. but in most other global markets, providing an ample market for old corrugated containers (OCC) and other scrap paper grades prepared by recyclers.

The first eight months of 2017 produced not only positive statistics for paper packaging grades but also several investments in capacity and acquisitions tied to the packaging sector.

Packaging picks up

The packaging sector also is an area of growth for recovered paper. In the article “Prepared for packaging,” available at www.RecyclingTodayGlobal.com/article/paper-recycling-packaging-containerboard-2017, with a condensed version in the sidebar with the same title on page 45, Recycling Today Editor Brian Taylor outlines several investments in capacity and acquisitions tied to the packaging sector. These include an $80 million investment into the construction of a new containerboard packaging plant in Piscataway, New Jersey, by Canada-based Cascades Inc. and Norcross, Georgia-based WestRock Co.’s acquisition of Multi Packaging Solutions International Ltd. and certain operations of U.S. Corrugated Holdings Inc.

WestRock says it intends to integrate 105,000 tons of containerboard converted annually by the acquired facilities and another 50,000 tons under a long-term contract with a newly created company. There also was the May 2017 announcement by Australian Visy/Pratt Industries Global Chairman Anthony Pratt to invest some $2 billion to expand his company’s North American recycling, containerboard and box making operations.

Canada-based Kruger Inc. announced in early September that it plans to diversify operations at its Brompton mill in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and its Wayagamack mill in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, into specialty niches, including flexible food packaging, labeling and digital printing. This move is an effort to “gradually reduce the production of some publication paper products that are in decline, such as newsprint and magazine paper,” the company says in a press release.

As these companies grow, sources point to a growing hurdle they are trying to figure out related to OCC and packaging: finding an economically effective way to collect corrugated from apartments and condominiums.

As North American dealers in the recovered paper sector figure out how to manage these changes, it’s a wait-and-see game with China and how its actions will affect a worldwide industry.

The author is associate editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted via email at mworkman@gie.net.

Continuing the tradition

Features - Cover Story

From left: Howard Schneider, former owner of Huron Paper Stock, with his son, Eric Schneider, president and current owner of the company.

Photos: Michael Hudson

Eric Schneider takes the legacy of integrity that his grandfather established when he founded Huron Paper Stock, Chicago, in 1955 seriously. His father, Howard, joined the company in 1969 after graduating from the University of Illinois, and he embraced that ethic as well. “I grew up with that word,” Eric says. “My dad was always saying, ‘Be upfront and be honest.’”

Another thing Howard emphasized was taking care of the customer, Eric says. “Taking care of the customer means being honest about what you can do for them.”

While honoring this tradition of integrity, Eric has expanded the range of materials the company handles and the business sectors that it serves. But his path to running Huron Paper Stock as the company’s president was not as direct as his approach to the business.

Taking a detour

Eric took a detour on his way to running Huron Paper Stock. While he began working with his father in the business in 1995 following college, Eric vacationed in Maui in 1999 and decided he wanted to live there.

“My dad was floored and upset; he didn’t believe me at first,” Eric says of Howard’s reaction to his intention to move.

Inside Huron Paper Stock’s plant in Chicago.

But move he did.

“Now, looking back and having a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter, I realize it is so hard to let your kids go,” Eric says. “It was hard for him, but he showed up to support me. I am grateful for how my dad stood by me.”

While in Maui, Eric married, started a family and worked a succession of jobs that provided a day-to-day existence, he says. Eventually, he began a career in real estate that he and his wife thought could lead to a better life. And then the housing market crashed in 2007 when Eric had five houses in escrow. All of those sales fell through.

Meanwhile, Howard was about to have knee surgery and was worrying about who would manage the business while he took time away to recuperate.

Eric’s wife, Christy, had been speaking with his mother, Terri, which prompted a phone conversation between father and son. During that call, it was decided Eric would return to Chicago for a month to look after the plant.

He says he left the company for Maui in part because he wanted to be creative and interact with people, only to realize upon his return that he could satisfy those needs while working in the family business.

Eric’s time in Maui, where he became familiar with Kimo’s Rules for Living, also reinforced his belief in the importance of integrity. “Tell the truth; there’s less to remember,” was one such rule that stood out to him. “While this is my personal belief, it definitely fits well with what my grandfather and father instilled in me and how to operate,” he says. “In an industry that has not always had the best reputation, we have always taken the approach to be honest and upfront.”

This approach doesn’t always ensure the company makes a deal or retains a customer, but Eric says it gives him peace of mind.

Howard retired earlier this year, making Eric the owner and president of the company. His legacy at Huron Paper Stock extends beyond integrity. While Eric’s grandfather didn’t finish high school, his father graduated from college and brought “keen” business skills with him to the family’s business, Eric says. “My dad is a numbers guy; grandpa worked the business. My dad brought in computer and accounting systems and maintenance and oversight on operations and equipment.” Eric says Howard excels at managing money, finding and trimming excess costs. Negotiating also is a strong suit. Those skills give Huron Paper Stock a strong base for Eric to build on as the company continues its sixth decade in business. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Most of the companies Huron Paper Stock works with are in the printing and packaging sectors.

Branching out

“Paper has been our No. 1 material since the beginning,” Eric says. “We have branched out into other areas in efforts to provide more value and support to all of our customers’ sustainability wants/needs.”

When his grandfather started the company in 1955, Chicago was a mecca for printing companies, Eric says. In fact, Huron Paper Stock is located only about a mile away from the area that used to be considered Printers’ Row. However, the industry has thinned over the years, and so has the volume of paper from this sector. This reality also contributed to the expanded range of materials the company handles.

Since rejoining Huron Paper Stock in 2007, Eric has focused on growing its business from the food packaging sector. An added benefit is that this sector is less volatile in terms of generation than the printing segment, helping to maintain the flow of materials coming into the plant.

Paper accounts for roughly 70 percent of the recyclables the company handles, while plastics make up 25 percent and metals and miscellaneous materials account for 5 percent, he says. In total, it processes 3,000 to 3,500 tons of recyclables per month.

Huron Paper Stock sorts and bales some incoming metals. When a full trailer load has been accumulated, the company transports the metals to a local scrap yard.

“Our niche is working with either other local businesses that value ‘mom and pop’ service with the corporate-style accounting/reporting as well as key partnerships with national account brokers that need a trusted friend/partner to service those accounts with operations in the Chicago area,” Eric says of Huron Paper Stocks’ generating customers, which include companies in the printing and food packaging sectors, as well as mailers, manufacturers, carton companies, offices and schools.

“We handle, sort, debox and get dirty—whatever it takes to make the cleanest and most marketable packs,” he says.

Eric says the company often spots trailers for customers, helping create space in their facilities that otherwise would be filled with recyclables. It also avoids live loading of the containers when Huron comes out to collect the material.

“Mixed trailer loads are our specialty.”

Of course, customers occasionally ask the company to handle materials it’s not equipped to handle for various reasons. That’s when Eric calls on the relationships he has established with other processors. “We connect customers to other vendors or sources that might benefit them.”

A member of Mankind

Among the many organizations that Eric Schneider, owner and president of Chicago-based Huron Paper Stock, volunteers his time with is The Mankind Project (MKP).

MKP describes itself on its website, http://mankindproject.org, as a “men’s community for the 21st century.” The organization is “a nonprofit training and education organization with three decades of proven success hosting life-changing experiential personal development programs for men. MKP supports a global network of free peer-facilitated men’s groups and supports men in leading lives of integrity, authenticity and service.”

According to the organization, “We believe that emotionally mature, powerful, compassionate and purpose-driven men will help heal some of our society’s deepest wounds. We support the powerful brilliance of men and we are willing to look at, and take full responsibility for, the pain we are also capable of creating—and suffering. We care deeply about men, our families, communities and the planet.”

Schneider has been a member of the organization since 2007 and has helped to facilitate its weekend-long New Warrior Training Adventures. Participants in these weekends write a personal mission statement based on their needs and talents.

“My mission is to create a world of cosmic, comedic and soulful relationships by listening for love,” he says.

Schneider shares the story of how he found MKP and his way back to Huron Paper Stock, the company his grandfather started in 1955 and that Eric left in 1999 to move to Maui, in Chapter 2 of the book Your Time is Now: Step into Your Greatness, by Greg S. Reid.

Navigating the turbulence

Eric describes market conditions as of August as being “interesting,” adding that if issues related to China’s National Sword customs crackdown continue, a serious correction in bulk grade pricing and movement could occur.

Nearly 70 percent of the material Huron Paper Stock handles is fiber.

This situation appears to have arisen as of late September as recyclers reported having difficulty finding buyers for mixed paper grades and prices for all recovered fiber grades are showing signs of plummeting as the month advances.

China’s National Sword campaign also has made plastics a “really tough commodity to be working with now,” Eric says. “With National Sword in China, many grades of plastics that had been shipped overseas for processing are not any longer. I heard that even if all other countries in Asia and Europe could take on some of that volume, it would only account for 20 percent of the total volume.”

U.S. processing facilities cannot handle the degree of contamination found in these postconsumer grades, he says, so the material is being landfilled. “While this is not a good thing for anyone, I do believe that there are some great opportunities that lay hidden and need to be uncovered.”

He continues, “When the markets are hot, anyone can do this business, and often I see others come in to try and make a buck. However, those that are successful in this business know it’s more crucial to understand a down market more than an up market. This has always been one of our strengths and will continue to be how we modify our model.” Eric adds, “We continue to look for the best ways to add value, which is an always evolving aspect of the business that I love the most.”

While Huron Paper Stock is not overly reliant on overseas markets, he says the company has been affected by National Sword as the market responds to surplus material in the U.S. by lowering pricing. If the situation continues, orders could decline as domestic mills’ inventories rise, further reducing pricing, Eric says.

Regarding plastics, Huron is working with its customers who might have to sort materials in their plants differently to assure recyclability and yield the most value.

Launching forward

As Eric looks toward the future of Huron Paper Stock under his leadership, he is grateful for the foundation built by his grandfather and father. “I am fortunate to be standing solid on a company that has been in business 62 years,” he says. Eric plans to build on that foundation.

“I am open to growing and expanding,” he says, though he adds that he’s not sure what form that will take as of yet. “Growth to me is represented in more tons moved through the plant. However, how we do that and with whom are the key factors. By connecting and aligning our company values with the values of others, we can continue to foster win-win situations.”

Eric continues, “Often, I say that I am not looking to work with anyone and everyone. Sometimes an account might generate huge volumes and is certainly very attractive; however, if the hidden costs are working with people out of integrity with themselves and their company who are overly demanding and unrealistic, then those huge volumes might not be worth it. For us, the reality is that I find it much more rewarding to work with six to eight smaller companies in which friendships are made and cherished.”

The author is managing editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted via email at dtoto@gie.net.

A Canadian PET recycler reports it has enjoyed more efficient operations since investing in melt-filtration equipment from Starlinger and Nordson BKG. Image: Starlinger

Canadian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling facility is seeing an increase in production and a reduction in costs by using new melt-filtration equipment.

Water bottler Ice River Springs installed a PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line last year at its Feversham, Ontario, plant. The Starlinger recoStar PET 165 HC iV+ line features a Nordson BKG HiCon screen changer that uses Flex Disc filter cartridges for melt filtration.

“The major aim in the Ice River Springs project was to achieve as high a throughput as possible to reduce the processing costs; thus, we tried to get out the maximum from the extruder,” says Paul Niedl, head of sales and marketing for Starlinger, which is headquartered in Vienna. “For the higher output, consequently, more filtration area is required to handle the capacity. That is where the Nordson BKG Flex Disc filter came in.”

Nordson’s BKG backflush technology addressed the problem, he says, as backflushing of the screen substantially prolongs screen life. But every backflush leads to melt loss because the material used to flush the screens goes to waste. The development of the BKG Flex Disc addressed these challenges.

“Therefore, our key goals were to enlarge the filtration area as much as possible and decrease the melt loss during the backflush process as much as possible,” Niedl says.

The Nordson BKG HiCon K-SWE-250-4K-75/RS-FC backflush screen changer, using Flex Disc cartridges, has a filtration area that’s 2.4 times bigger than standard screens. It has a total area of about 4,000 square centimeters, filtering the melt with a fineness of 56 microns. It also provides for high process stability, as 75 percent of the filtration area is available during screen changing and backflushing.

In addition, Nordson has reduced backflush volume by 40 percent.

Increasing the filtration area reduces the number of screen changes, Schroeder says. “An expanded filtration area leads to a lower flow rate of the melt, which means that the dirt particles hit the filtration medium with little force and are separated from the melt easily.”

The Flex Disc consists of multiple cassettes, and the two screen packs within each cassette allow for the large filtration area. Previous case studies showed screen life can be extended by up to nine times, depending on machine size, contamination level, polymer viscosity and application.

The Flex Disc prevents material stagnation zones because the melt has a low residence time. It also reduces pressure variations that can hurt end-product quality, Schroeder says. The device’s steel screen prevents pressure loss and resists deformation, allowing it to hold up to mechanical stresses.

Ice River Springs bought the high-capacity version of the recoStar line. It features a bigger predrying unit and increased solid-state polycondensation (SSP) capacity, coupled with a standard-size extruder, Niedl says. It can process about 4,000 pounds of material per hour on a recycling line with a normal production capacity of about 3,000 pounds per hour. “By adding a melt pump and using a bigger sized SSP reactor, we were able to increase the production output to even 1,900 kilograms (4,189 pounds) per hour,” Niedl says.

Schroeder says if the differential pressure increases because of filter screen contamination, the screen changer’s bearing piston automatically moves into the blackflush position, directing the contamination out through a spillway.

An Ice River Springs spokesperson says, “The new filtration system has improved our purification process, reduced waste and improved performance to a level at or beyond the commitment made by Starlinger. As recycling streams evolve and become more challenging, this reliable system will continue to provide the quality resin required by Ice River Springs in the coming years.”

Starlinger’s Niedl says the Nordson technology boosts the line’s overall efficiency. “With the Nordson Flex Disc filter integrated into our PET recycling system, the melt loss that accumulates during the backflushing process in the course of the filter cleaning is down to 1.4 to 1.7 percent—a figure that is a lot lower than normal in PET bottle-to- bottle recycling processes,” he says. “The filter works very efficiently; even when processing materials with high contamination that cannot be recycled on other lines, the backflushing melt loss increases to no more than 2 percent.”

The line recycles washed PET flakes made from bottles collected curbside.

Ice River Springs operates Blue Mountain Plastics, a PET recycling plant, at its Shelburne, Ontario, headquarters. It is equipped with washing and recycling lines and produces bottles with up to 100 percent recycled content.

A pioneering effort

Features - Plastics Trailblazers

Lou Tacito had no idea that earning a degree in plastics engineering would lead him to pioneer so many changes in the plastics and plastics recycling sectors. The son of emigrant parents from Italy, Tacito was taught responsibility and respect. His parents also knew that to be successful in life, an advanced education was necessary.

After graduating from college in 1974, Tacito began working in research and development for some of the largest chemical and packaging companies, including Monsanto, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Continental Can Co., where he was part of the team that discovered and developed the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle as a form of packaging for carbonated soft drinks for Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. Continental Can Co.’s PET Technology Division developed and commercialized 10 plants in 18 months, and Tacito says the PET packaging industry was born.

What are your roots in the plastics recycling industry? The movie “The Graduate” was leading the “plastics revolution” when the chemical industry was thinking about the potential of replacing the heavy and dangerous glass pressure vessel with plastic. I became part of a team of young engineers researching the materials and processes to stretch blow mold PET resin that had been used for high-strength tire cords and strapping. Continental Can Co. (metal cans) and Owens Illinois (glass bottles) needed to move with the threat of a new plastic replacement, but leading brands needed to see the potential and creation of the plastics industry to support it as glass already had this infrastructure.

Why did you start Plastics Forming Enterprises (PFE)? The need to support Coke’s global expansion of [PET] soft drink bottles required recycling technology to assist the systems for collection and recycling. [I was] simultaneously researching and engineering the first facilities by integrating the processes, which were used in other industries such as farming, mining, chemical, food and plant processing. I needed to sort, grind and air separate paper and plastic labels, wash and rinse off glue and residual contents, sink-float the polyolefins and then separate the aluminum caps that had PVC (polyvinyl chloride) liners in the ground flake form.

How have you seen plastics recycling change over the years? The combination of redesigning the package and developing the next generation of equipment drove the changes. Over the next 25 years, companies like Sorema, Amut Group, Herbold USA, etc., focused on the washing systems, while companies like NRT, MSS, TiTech, etc., focused on sorting technologies.

Simultaneously we helped the brand owners and conversion companies to “design for recycling,” which was the one-piece bottle without a base cup, the plastic versus paper label and plastic caps with no PVC liners, which made a huge difference and created a viable quality and efficient operation.

Talk about PFE’s work in evaluating recycling equipment. I needed to guide the connection between the package designers and the recycling equipment developers, whether it was the sorting for colors and polymers with optical sorters or assessing a resin company and label company to make good decisions for the brand owners to evaluate. The acceptable quality levels were established by using “new test protocols.” These were the first design guidelines to be instrumental in setting standards for all stakeholders to focus on.

The most challenging application became the food-grade application back into bottles. Coke deserves the credit for driving this agenda globally and creating the guidelines for food safety used today by the Food and Drug Administration, European Food Safety Authority and other countries. The combination of processing technology and quality assurance required us to work closely with all the equipment companies.

What misperceptions about plastics recycling do you wish you could debunk? The biggest misperception is that recycling is easy! Technical and economic factors create a very complex business structure.

What roles have you held over the years and in what ways have you contributed to the industry? The last project I had with Continental was to figure out what to do with these new bottles that Coke was required to take back from consumers in the deposit bill states where litter was the primary concern. The need to expand the knowledge base to support this new industry was the priority. The only people who were involved with recycling postindustrial fiber and strapping were Wellman Advanced Materials (formerly Wellman Inc. and then Wellman Plastics Recycling) and St. Jude Polymer Corp. (which has since gone out of business). The need to create a trade group with technical resources became a “go-to” group for direction. I became one of the founding fathers of the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) Recycle Division and Association of PostConsumer Recyclers (APR). I saw an opportunity and created the first PET packaging application using recycled sheet. Our first company was known as Polyester Products, and we were in a partnership with a recycler (St. Jude) and a thermoformer (Hub Folding Box Co.).

PFE has been focused on the PET recycled content area – how has this sector grown over the years and what potential do you see here? As I referred to the food-grade material in the equipment question, this area has been very involved with government regulations. The technologies have been targeted to meeting the worst-case situations. The growth potential is tied to the supply of quality material.

This also is expanding in areas where material is being generated from dedicated collection systems.

Where do you see upcoming opportunities and challenges for plastics recycling? Plastic is everywhere and being used successfully in all major markets. The real opportunity is to better understand the global initiative for the use of the recycled plastic as a resource into a circular economy. It is being driven through the sustainability goals of consumer product companies.

However, the ongoing challenge is oil and gas prices. Recycling still needs to be equal to or less than virgin resin prices.

What’s the biggest (professional) mistake you have made? Looking back over 30-plus years, I feel the regret of not doing more while I was younger.

Who has served as your role model or mentor? I would say my parents, who showed me how to persevere and never give up.

Otherwise, a gentleman [named] Bob Ramsdell was a mentor who coached me during my darkest hours and greatest victories both in family and in business. Bob recently passed away at the age of 94, and I will miss him greatly.

What advice can you offer to younger plastics recyclers entering the market? Do your homework by knowing your supply and markets. Make sure you have adequate resources. Keep an open mind and always ask questions while you continue to learn.

What lessons have you learned about the industry that have helped you throughout the years? Listen to people who have valuable experience. I always tried to align with genuine people who are doers. Stand on your own and believe in yourself and your ideas.